Rev. Zach

Revelation 7:9-17 , 1 John 3:1-3 , Matthew 5:1-12 I bring you greetings from the 155th meeting of the Presbytery of South Louisiana, and I want to remind you that we are a part of the Presbytery. There is no us and them. There is just us, and we meet three times a year with commissioned Elders – not representatives but Elders who are in mission together – to discern the will of God for the church. The meeting of commissioners of the Presbytery of South Louisiana (PSL) is February 6 at University Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge, and our governing council, the Session, will need to commission two Ruling Elders – which means two people who have served (or are serving) on our Session – to attend that meeting. I also mentioned the Rev. Lemuel García-Arroyo in the announcements. Rev. Lemuel serves as a ministry engagement advisor for the South region of the PC(USA) Office of Ministry Engagement and Support. In that role, he assists congregations and mid-councils (like the Presbytery) to ...

Psalm 23        Revelation 7:9-17 We are now on our third week in a sermon series on the lectionary readings from the Book of Revelation. We began with the idea that Jesus is God’s self revelation, and this book is a particular expression of hope for a particular people who believe in Jesus as the One who revealed the heart of God. Because the language of this book is symbolic it can offer us a word of hope for our time as well. So, people of God, listen to what the Spirit is teaching us today through this reading from Revelation7:9-17. 9After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" 11And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the...